Moonlight
by del2007
Summary: DH SPOILERS One dark wizard is gone but another is on the rise, and this time a very different Hogwarts student must defeat him. COMPLETE
1. The Other Prophecy

**Disclaimer: **Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling and all respective companies.

Luna had seen it, only for a fleeting second. After all, she was being chased by a death eater at the time, but she had seen it as clear as her hand in front of her face. Among the seemingly millions of glowing orbs in the Department of Mysteries, there was one, situated four shelves up, second form the aisle that read _L. Lovegood _at the top.

Luna was the only L. Lovegood she knew of, even in her own family, the only one to have a first name beginning with L. She chose to not tell anyone of its existence, mainly because she had know idea what it was about, just that it had something to do with her. It could have been something as mundane as "Luna Lovegood will eat chocolate cake on the 13th September", or something much more sinister. Luna rather hoped it predicted her discovery of a Crumple-Horned Snorkack at some point in her life. She had seen the mystery orb at the end of her fourth year, whilst fighting alongside the DA at the Ministry of Magic. The orb and the secrets it contained soon left her mind, and didn't re-enter until over two years later, at a seemingly random moment.

Luna was sitting in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express, staring out the window, as rain dripped down it, the dismal dullness behind it. She was on her way to Hogwarts for her seventh and final year. She was a little sad that many of her friends were not returning with her. Harry, Hermione, Ron and Neville had gone their separate ways, being a year older than her. She was sure she would see them again, but certainly not while she was at school.

And she still had Ginny. The red-haired girl and her had become good friends over the years, even though Ginny had been initially reluctant to associate with her, not wanting to be known as "that friend of Loony Lovegood's". She was sitting in the seat across with Luna, alongside a mixed group of other students, from different houses and years, who had seemingly only sat in this compartment because their weren't any others with room left.

Luna began to wonder what this year would be like. The school was still recovering from the battle at the end of her sixth year, but was in surprisingly good shape considering it had only been a few months, owing to the fact many of the teachers had elected to stay over the summer to help with repairs. Added to these thoughts was the now annual discussion of who would be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor. Once again, the outgoing teacher had only lasted a year. Not many students were complaining however, they were all glad to see the back of the Carrows, Luna included, though she wasn't a person to ever actively hate someone.

Luna recognised a mountain as the train sped on, the landmark informing her she was about two-thirds through the journey. Having already finished the latest edition of the Quibbler, there was nothing to do except stare out of the window and think. It was then the orb with her name slipped into her mind for the first time in years. She began to think again of what it predicted, if anything. Perhaps whatever it was had already happened? Maybe it simply predicted Luna would be kidnapped by Death Eaters, or that she would be involved in the final battle with Voldermort. Deep down, Luna didn't really want to know. She had always taken an attitude of "what will be will be", and never wanted to know anything about her fate, but she couldn't resist a little speculation.

While she mused on this, the train began to slow down at a surprising rate. They were still nowhere near Hogsmeade, and Luna thought there may have been a problem with the track. In all her years of travelling on the train, there had never been any delays or problems with any of the journeys. She only got a moment though, before it al happened in a matter of seconds. Before she knew what was going on, Luna was flat on her back, the rain stinging her face fro above. There was a little blood dripping from her cheek, and she was freezing. Standing up, shivering, Luna saw what had been her carriage, lying on its side, smoke billowing from the middle of it. Looking down further, it was a similar story, carriages twisted and broken. The Hogwarts Express had crashed.

Luna checked herself over properly, finding to her amazement she had escaped with only a few scratches, despite being thrown from the train. The trackside was already crowded with students who had escaped the wreckage. Those who could apparate were disappearing to get help, and the driver was running up and down to try to assist anyway he could.

"I've been driving this train for thirty years!" he yelled to no-one in particular, "Never seen anything like this!" The driver seemed at a loss to what had caused the disaster, and Luna simply stared for a moment at the carnage before her.

"Ginny!" she yelled out, realising her best friend wasn't anywhere to be seen. She hurried along her carriage, counting the compartments, until she found the one that had been hers. Luckily, it was largely in tact, and Luna was able to climb up through the window she'd been thrown out of. It took a moment for her to see properly, the air filled with dust and soot. She spotted an unmistakable mess of red hair a little in front of her, and reached out to find Ginny, slumped in her seat, still breathing, but unconscious. She pulled her up as best she could, and coughing, exited back out of the carriage, collapsing onto the ground spluttering as soon as she did. A shadow appeared in front of her.

"Luna, you need to come with me."

Luna looked up into the face of one of the last people she expected to see at this scene. Hermione Granger.

"Hermione, what…" she began to say.

"No time," Hermione cut in, lifting Ginny from the ground, and grabbing Luna's arm. The blond girl felt herself spinning away from the wreckage site.

**Notes: **This is the first fanfic I've submitted, reviews are greatly appreciated.


	2. The New Order of the Phoenix

**Thanks to LanaLangKent, mestor, FeltonxFanxForxLife and Manetta Balck for their great reviews. Any more are greatly welcomed. Found time to write the second chapter, hope you like it:**

Luna nearly fell over as her feet landed on a stone slab, Hermione stopping her, still holding her arm. They had apparated to a long Georgian street, somewhere in London, Luna presumed. It wasn't raining at this location, and it was warmer than it had been at the crash sight. Luna felt the warm air hit her and begin to evaporate the rain from her face. The street itself was quiet, with only a few muggles strolling along..

"Don't worry," Hermione spoke for the first time, "They can't see us." She carried Ginny and led Luna through a large black door Luna hadn't even noticed behind them, and into a long, dimly lit hallway.

"Welcome to Twelve Grimmauld Place," Hermione informed them. Luna vaguely recognised the name of the street. Wasn't this the headquarters of the Order?

"Harry! Ron!" Hermione called out towards the first floor. A few moments later, the two boys came running down the stairs, both immediately noticing Ginny.

"She's just unconscious," Hermione explained before either of them could assume the worst, "You better take her upstairs, and get Chris to help, he's the closest to a healer we have here." Ron took Ginny from her and carefully carried her upstairs.

Luna had been inside long enough to compose herself, and had re-adopted her dreamy expression, despite the carnage she had just witnessed. Harry and Hermione led her through to the house's large sitting room. The house didn't appear to look any different from when Sirius had been alive. Although it was now Harry's, he couldn't bear to change what he thought was a rather grim interior, as it was about the only thing he had left of Sirius, and by extension his parents.

The room was filled with mostly the members of the DA who had graduated from Hogwarts at the end of the previous school year. As soon as Luna stepped into the room, all eyes turned to her. She was used to people staring at her, usually in a bemused or mocking way, but this was different, they were looking at her in almost an air of awe. It reminded her a little of the way she used to see students look at Harry.

"Meet the new Order of the Phoenix," Harry stated. As Luna looked around the crowd more, she saw a few people she didn't recognise, and those who hadn't been members of the DA, including Draco Malfoy. Despite everything that had happened, including being locked in his family's cellar for several months, Luna felt no resentment towards him. She always liked to feel there was some good in everyone, and if he was now a member of the Order, then that must have stood true for Malfoy.

"Luna," Harry snapped her out of her thoughts, "Can I talk to you in private for a moment, there's a few things I need to ask you." With the entire Order still staring at her, Luna followed Harry down to the kitchen of the house. It was empty, aside from Harry's house-elf, Kreacher.

"Kreacher, can you give us a moment?" Harry asked. Kreacher bowed.

"Right away, master," he said, promptly disappearing. Harry laughed a little.

"Never thought in a million years I'd ever have the slightest respect for that elf, or that I'd be working in the Order alongside Draco Malfoy, funny how things change." Luna nodded.

"Anyway," Harry began, "We brought you here tonight because the train crash wasn't an accident, and we think whoever caused it was after you."

"Why would they want me?" Luna asked. She had been kidnapped the previous Christmas, but with the Death Eaters and Voldemort apparently gone, what would anyone want with her? Harry sighed.

"Luna, I'm sorry, but I have to ask this. When you're mother…died, what was she working on? The experiment you talked about." Harry had talked to Luna briefly about her mother's death before, and knew she didn't mind terribly to talk about it, usually proud of being able to describe her mother's achievements. But Harry knew how having to re-live an event like that could cause even someone like Luna to break down. She shook her head.

"I don't know. She was always very secretive about her experiments. She only let me help as an assistant some of the time. That was the reason I was there when the accident happened. All I remember is she had five, maybe six cauldrons with a potion in each. She cast a spell at them, sorry, I don't know what it was, and then everything was engulfed by a blue light. She sent a _depulso_ spell at me to send me safely out of its range, and then I saw her…" A few tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Harry took one of her hands.

"It's okay," he said, "You don't need to say any more."

"Why do you need to know anyway?" Luna asked, wiping her tears away.

"Whatever your mother was working on that day, someone wants it. That's why we think they want you, thinking you would know about it or where to find it." Luna's head suddenly shot up.

"My father, is he okay?" Harry put up a hand to stop her. "He's fine. We got him at King's Cross just after the train left. He's at the burrow." Luna breathed a sigh of relief.

"So, what now?" asked Luna, her usual curious expression beaming through.

"Luna, you're going to have to…" Harry couldn't finish. He pulled her into a hug, and was struggling not to cry himself. He was about the only person on earth who knew what this would be like for Luna, why everyone in the living room had been staring at her, why she was going to have her chance of a normal life cruelly taken away from her, why she would be facing death every second. But of all the people he could think of who best could cope with this, it might just have been Luna Lovegood.

Harry released her, and silently led her back up the stairs to the meeting room.

"Draco Malfoy!" They could hear Ginny's voice from inside the room, "After everything he's done! After everything his family's done! After they kidnapped Luna and tortured Hermione! You're actually letting him in the order!"

"Ginny," Harry said sternly as he entered the room with Luna, glad to see Ginny back on her feet, "Draco's changed. After everything that happened in the war, and I keep thinking of Dumbledore. He gave Snape a second chance, and if he hadn't, we may never have defeated Voldemort, and…" he turned to face Malfoy, "I've made it quite clear that if he puts one foot wrong, he can have a family reunion in Azkaban." Malfoy simply looked at the floor. Harry took a seat in front of the group, the fireplace behind him, and sat Luna next to him. Luna saw Neville for the first time since entering the house, and smiled at him. He gave a forced smile back, there was something worrying him.

"Luna," Harry began again, "Have you heard of a wizard called Adamo Moonlight?" Luna shook her head.

"He left Hogwarts a few years before we started," Ron was standing at the back of the room, continuing the story, "Slytherin of course. He was a supporter of you-know-you, although he never became a Death Eater, only reason he's not in Azkaban. Now, with you-know-who-"

"Oh, for heaven's sake Ron!" Hermione blurted out, "He's dead, he's gone, you can say the name now." Ron ignored her and continued.

"With you-know-who gone," Hermione rolled her eyes, "This Moonlight guy sees himself as the wizard to carry on his legacy, and become the new Dark Lord, and the thing is…" His gaze turned to Luna, but Harry finished for him.

"It seems he is to you, Luna, what Voldemort was to me."

"You mean, I have to defeat him?" Luna asked, with a surprising degree of calmness.

"The wizarding world's only just recovering from Voldemort's reign. The ministry's a mess, even with Shaklebolt in charge. We can't deal with another war yet, so, we really need you Luna."

"Great," Malfoy spoke up sarcastically, "The fate of everyone in the hands of Loony Lovegood. We're all doomed."

"Luna's going to beat this guy!" Ginny cried back at him angrily, "Unlike you. You'd be cowering under a table crying for your mum to come and fight for you." Draco looked at the floor again. He was no longer the cocky, arrogant boy he had been at Hogwarts, the last few years had caused him to recede inside himself, but he still liked to throw the odd insulting comment.

Before anyone else had a chance to speak, the fireplace behind Harry and Luna roared to live, and Arthur Weasley fell out, looking as if he had been on the Hogwarts Express when it crashed.

"The burrow…attacked…Xenophilius…taken," was all he could manage to say.


	3. Luna's Mission

Twelve Grimmauld Place had quickly turned into the busiest house in the city, members of the Order moving hurriedly along the corridors, attending to their different duties. There was no panic, but an air of slight fear and apprehension. Arthur Weasley was resting in the meeting room, having revealed to an anxious Ron and Ginny that that all the family had been taken safely to Bill and Fleur's cottage.

With the news of Xenophilius's capture, Harry had hurriedly taken Luna upstairs to one of the bedrooms on the first floor of the house. It was dark, with two identical beds, and a large wardrobe in the corner by the window.

"We're going to have to move you," Harry simply said, rummaging through a chest,

"If they've found where your dad was hiding, it's only a matter of time before they come here." Harry was remembering the hurriedness of the night a year ago when the Order had come to escort him from Privet Drive, The protected had become the protector, he thought as he finally found what he was looking for, his invisibility cloak.

"I want you to have this," Harry said, handing Luna the Deathly Hallow, "It's saved me more times than I can remember, and it might come in useful."

"Thank you, Harry," Luna said, "I'll give it back to you as soon as this is over." She said it with certainty in her voice rather than mere optimism. Harry was less sure, he knew how dangerous a situation like this could be.

"There's another thing," he carried on, "Whatever you do, don't go alone. One thing I've learned is that you always need your friends by your side, you can't survive without them," he paused, "Ginny will want to go with you." He hadn't directly asked her, but he already knew there was no way she would let Luna do this alone. Things were being reversed again. This time it would be Ginny out risking her life while Harry had to wait hoping for the best. It wasn't a favourable feeling.

"And me." Harry and Luna turned to the doorway to see Neville standing there. "I want to help you too Luna." Harry walked over to Neville.

"Are you sure about this, Neville?" Harry asked. Despite Neville's courage over the past few years, he was still a little doubtful whether he could handle something like this.

"Yes," Neville said defiantly, "I'd already decided ages ago. Like you said, Harry, you need your friends with you, and I don't want Luna and Ginny to have to do this alone. Besides," he turned to Luna, "You and Ginny haven't passed your apparition tests yet. I did over the summer."

"Neville Longbottom," Luna said, smiling at him, "Someday you and I will ride Crumple-Horned Snorkacks together." Neville assumed this was Luna's way of saying thanks.

"Okay then," Harry said, "We should move quickly." He led Luna and Neville back out of the room and down the stairs to the front landing. Ginny was already waiting for them.

"Harry…" she began.

"It's okay," Harry interrupted her, "You don't have to explain anything." Ginny smiled at the understanding between them. They weren't officially back together yet, but it was inevitable.

"Neville," Harry turned to the Gryffindor, "How far can you safely apparate?"

"Um…I don't know…two hundred miles maybe?" Harry began to think of a new possible safe house within that radius.

"How far away from here is Cardiff?" Luna suddenly interjected. Harry thought for a moment, british geography wasn't one of his strong points.

"Probably about one hundred and fifty miles," he made an educated guess, "Is there somewhere there you think would be safe?" Luna nodded.

"My grandparents live there."

"That sounds like a good idea," Harry stated, "Moonlight's gang aren't likely to know about that or think of looking for you there. Luna, we're going to stay here and try and hold them off when they come. If all goes well, I'll get over to your grandparents house to figure out what to do next." Luna quickly scribbled the address n a piece of spare parchment, and after some hasty goodbyes, they made their way to the front slab outside the front door of the house. Luna, Ginny and Neville joined hands.

"Okay Neville," Luna explained, "We need to get to the north-east of the city, hopefully we should arrive close." Neville closed his eyes to concentrate, and the three teenagers felt the suffocating effect of apparition as the sight of Grimmauld place left them behind.

It was only a few seconds later that Luna felt her feet touch down on solid ground again. It was late evening by now, and the long, modern muggle street they were on was illuminated only by street lights. Luna looked around for a moment, before finally recognising where they were.

"Well done Neville," she congratulated him, "We're only about a ten minute walk from the house."

"Oh Luna, I'm so sorry, I've splinched you," Neville said, holding her left hand. It was missing the middle finger.

"That's okay," Luna said still smiling, "That was always my least favourite finger." Neville knew she wasn't joking. Luna quickly led them through some winding identical streets before arriving at a smaller cul-de-sac, almost exactly ten minutes later.

"This is it," she said, "Number Seventeen." She walked up to the grey-brick house's front door, with the number seventeen in the centre, flowers adorning it, and the name _Ellis_ on the wall beside the door. There was light coming from the front window, meaning at least someone was in. Luna knocked softly on the door and footsteps could be heard from inside. A moment later, light filled the path as the door was opened by a man looking like he was probably in his sixties or seventies.

"Luna," he said in surprise noticing her, "What are you doing here? I thought you started back at school today."

"I was supposed to," Luna answered, "But a few things have happened, and there's some people looking for me and my friends. Would it be okay if we stayed here for the night?"

"Of course, Luna," her grandfather answered without any hesitation, "You know you're welcome here any time." He went back in towards the living room of the house, and Luna, Neville and Ginny followed behind him.

"Who is it, William?" a woman's voice came from the living room as Luna entered.

"Bore da, grandmother," Luna greeted her in Welsh.

"Luna dear," she replied, getting up to hug her granddaughter, "I didn't know you were coming. Who are your friends?" Neville and Ginny had now entered the living room.

"These are Ginny Weasley and Neville Longbottom," Luna introduced them. Neville had been looking around the living room, and not seeing the slightest evidence of magical activity, it seemed safe to assume that Luna's grandparents were muggles.

"Do any of you want any tea, or biscuits?" she asked, trying to make the visitors as welcome as possible. She reminded Ginny a little of her mother.

"No, thanks," Ginny said, Neville agreeing. With everything that had happened today, they both just wanted to get some much needed rest.

"Luna, can you help me upstairs?" Mr Ellis asked, "I think we have a few camp-beds upstairs your friends could have." Luna got the feeling he needed to speak to her, and followed him out of the room and up the stairs.

"I won't try to pretend to understand much about your world," he said to her, beginning to sound worried, "Even your mother could never really explain it to us. I just hope you haven't gotten yourself into anything dangerous."

"It's not really that," Luna replied, unfolding a camp-bed in one of the spare rooms,

"It's the other way round. Something dangerous has got itself into me. It's just something I have to do, but don't worry, I'll be okay, it's not the first time I've had to do something like this." Her grandfather didn't seem convinced.

"Well, if you're sure," he replied, "But don't say anything about that to your gran, you know how she worries." Luna nodded, as they finished setting up the other bed.

Half an hour later, Luna and Ginny were lying in their beds, sharing the room Luna always slept in when she stayed here. Neville was sleeping in the other spare room, loud snoring already audible. Luna was in the permanent bed in the corner, Ginny in a smaller camp-bed that was lower down than her friend's, meaning she had to sit up to see Luna properly. She could barely keep her eyes open, but found herself unable to sleep at the same time.

"Luna," she said, looking over at the other girl, also still awake, "How can you be so calm? In one day, you've been in a train crash, found out you have to save the wizarding world, and apparated all over the country. I mean, don't you ever get scared?"

"Of course I do," Luna replied, staring at the ceiling, "I just don't let fear take me over. If I did, I'd never get anything done." Ginny smiled. Despite some of the outrageous things she sometimes said, often what came out of Luna's mouth made perfect sense. While thinking about this, Ginny finally fell asleep.

The morning after, Luna and Ginny were woken by Luna's grandmother entering the room carrying a small breakfast.

"Morning dears," she greeted them, smiling, "Just brought you both a little something to eat. There's a boy waiting for you downstairs, says his name's Harry Potter."

"Thanks gran," Luna said, as she exited the room. Grabbing a few pieces of toast, Ginny got up and headed after her.

"We better get down and see Harry," she said, "Could be important." Luna followed her, picking up a cup of tea as she left. Entering the living room, they saw Neville was already up, deep in conversation with Harry.

"Hey girls," he said, smiling in particular at Ginny. He suspected this might be the last time he would see her properly for a long while.

"Is there any news?" Luna asked. Harry nodded.

"As we expected, Moonlight and his cronies came to the house, looking for you. Luckily they were outnumbered, and it wasn't long before we forced them to scamper. We're not sure where exactly to though." He looked disappointed. "If we can find where they're hiding, we can find your father."

"Then if it's me they want," Luna said, "Then I'm the only one who can flush them out." Harry shook his head, knowing what she was thinking.

"It's too dangerous. If they capture you..."

"What else can we do?" Luna asked, "Like you said, you don't even know where they are. We should set a trap, with me in an open place, but not have it so obvious that we're setting an ambush for them." Harry sighed.

"You're right, Luna," Harry conceded. They spent the next few hours deciding where would be best for an ambush. Diagon Ally was eliminated, along with several other suggestions, it would be far too obvious, before the group finally decided on Hogsmeade as the best location, assuming anyone would think Luna was simply there to try and get back to Hogwarts.

"The Order will be there in two days," Harry explained, looking at the fireplace across the room, "I'll get Ginny's dad to connect that to the floo network and contact Aberforth. No offence Neville, but if Luna lost a finger with you apparating from London to here, it could be a lot worse going all the way to Hogsmeade." Neville agreed.

After thanking Luna's grandparents, Harry exited the house. The next few days were uneventful. Luna, Ginny and Neville merely rested, Luna and Ginny being practically force-fed by Mrs Ellis, who claimed they were both far too skinny, and gathering supplies from the shops in Cardiff. They were anxiously waiting for the allocated time when they would floo to The Hog's Head to arrive. Finally, on the afternoon two days after Harry had left, the three of them were crammed into the fireplace of the Ellis' living room. Harry had left them a small amount of floo powder for the journey. Luna's grandparents were out, and she had neglected to tell them the exact method of their departure, not sure how to explain it, and had just told them they would be leaving today.

"The Hog's Head, Hogsmeade!" Neville cried, dropping the powder. Luna felt the sensation of travelling through the floo network, a feeling very different to apparating. It only took a moment, before the figure of Aberforth Dumbledore appeared in front of her.

"About time you showed up," he stated, annoyed, "I was about to leave." Luna looked around. The pub, which would usually be fairly busy around this time, was deserted. No doubt cleared at Harry's request.

"Their all about outside, _undercover_, they say," he went on, "The lot of them stick out like a sore thumb if you ask me. Now, will you please hurry up," he said, motioning towards the side entrance, "I want to re-open this place." Ginny, Luna and Neville hurried out into the alley, as Aberforth shut the door immediately behind them.

"Okay, I need to go out into the street alone," Luna explained, "If they see me, join up with the rest of the order, and try to capture one of them." Neville and Ginny nodded, and Luna slowly walked out into the busy main street of the village, disappearing among the crowd. She walked around, happy to be back in this village, and glanced over at Hogwarts Castle in the distance, wishing she was starting her first day of classes, along with all the other students in her year.

"_Stupefy!_" The spell flew just over Luna's head, barely missing her. That was the order's cue. Within just a few seconds, complete chaos reigned, curses flying all over the place, innocent bystanders running around screaming. Luna joined in with the Order, but was finding it difficult, with most of Moonlight's supporters shooting curses directly after her. Soon, she found Neville and Ginny had arrived at her side, acting as her primary protectors. She saw, to her relief, that the Order appeared winning, before she tripped backwards over one of the unconscious attackers.

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Neville fired at someone trying to take advantage of Luna's temporary distraction. The curse the assailant had fired at her hit the ground instead, and before anyone knew what was happening, the ground beneath Luna, Ginny and Neville along with the man Luna had tripped over, crumbled, and they found themselves falling into darkness.


	4. The Diary of Severus Snape

Luna hit solid ground sooner than she thought she would. Looking up, she saw they had only dropped a few metres and she seemed largely unhurt, along with Ginny and Neville.

"_Reparo!_" All three pointed their wands upwards, causing the hole they had crashed through to re-form itself, sealing them in, the sounds of the commotion above began to die away. Ginny helped Luna up, while Neville got to his feet. Now in complete darkness, Luna used wandlight to search around where their landing spot. It seemed to be along, narrow cave.

"Where are we?" Neville asked.

"Looks like one of the secret passages to Hogwarts," Ginny theorised, "Fred and George always said…" she stopped for a moment, remembering her brother again. Luna put a hand on her shoulder. "They always said they thought there were a few tunnels even they hadn't discovered." Luna and Neville picked up the unconscious Moonlight supporter, and they began head through the cave-like tunnel in a random direction, hoping it would indeed lead to the school. About five minutes later, just as Ginny was starting to think that the tunnel lead to nowhere, they spotted a spiral staircase in the distance. Luna and Neville carefully began to climb up, afraid the old structure could collapse at any moment.

"Ginny, hurry up!" Neville called to his friend, who seemed to be taking an interest in a corner of the tunnel by the staircase.

"Coming," she replied, hurrying at an alarming pace behind them. The staircase didn't last as long as they expected it would, and at the top, was a stone wall.

"A dead end," Neville said in frustration.

"Hang on," Luna said, darting in front of him, and leaning with force on the wall. As she had expected, it opened out onto another dark room, the small amount of light flooding the completely dark stairwell. She carefully stepped through the opening, and instantly recognised the other side as the dungeons of Hogwarts.

"We made it," she said happily. The three of them trudged along the corridor and out into the bottom of the Grand Staircase. Luna had to cover her eyes for a moment, as they adjusted to the strong light of the atrium.

"We better get him to Madame Pomfrey, before we do anything else," Neville stated, motioning to the figure he and Luna were still carrying. Growing weary, they carried on up the flights of moving stairs heading for the school's infirmary.

"Miss Weasley, Miss Lovegood," they turned to see the school's new headmistress, Professor McGonagall, marching towards them, "I was informed you would not be returning to school this year, and I certainly did not expect to see you here, Mr Longbottom."

"I'm sorry, Headmistress," Luna began, "We came here from Hogsmeade…"

"Hogsmeade?" McGonagall interrupted, "Then maybe you can tell me what on earth is going on over there, it sound like there's a full scale battle in progress."

"There is," Ginny simply said, "Professor, we have to get this man to Madame Pomfrey, then we can update you on everything."

"See that you do," the headmistress replied, walking off. Luna and Neville started moving again, grateful a few minutes later when they finally got to put the heavy assailant down. Madame Pomfrey was already rattling on about how to treat him, while Luna asked her to inform them as soon as he was conscious.

"We should make sure we have some veritaserum," Ginny suggested, as they left the infirmary. Luna nodded, it would probably be necessary. They took the trip to the headmistress' office, and begrudgingly had to re-tell the story of the last few days to her. She in turn told me of the miracle of no-one being killed after the derailment of the Hogwarts Express, and all other events of interests that had been happening in the school. She agreed to allow all three to stay in their respective houses for however long they would be here, and they decided to head there straight away, when they left the office, for some much needed rest.

As Luna walked in front of Neville and Ginny up the staircase, she noticed Ginny was reading a tattered-looking book. She had been reading it ever since they had arrived at the school. Having time to think again, Luna walked over beside her.

"What is it you're reading?"

"It's a diary." Neville looked nervous, recalling the last time Ginny had discovered a diary in the school.

"I found it in the passageway," Ginny explained, "Those are good places to hide things." She flipped the book back to its first page, and showed it to Luna.

"_This diary is the property of Severus Snape._"

"Snape's diary?" Luna said, interested. Ginny nodded.

"It's from when he was a student here. I've been reading a little bit of it. Did you know he used to have a thing for Harry's mum?"

At this point, Luna separated from her two companions, heading for her own Ravenclaw dormitories, while Ginny and Neville carried on towards Gryffindor. Luna felt a wave of happiness as she saw her house's common room for the first time in months, she was home again. Heading straight up to her own dormitory, she discovered to her satisfaction that her old bed was still free. She collapsed on to it exhausted, and feel asleep.

Luna spent the next few days trying to lead a normal Hogwarts existence, staying in her own house, and even going to a few classes. If this was her last time in the castle, she'd rather have these days as the last memories of her time at the school, instead of the horrors of her sixth year. Ginny seemed to be doing the same, and Neville had been helping out Professor Sprout with her Herbology classes, glad to be back in the familiar greenhouses. Luna possibly liked going to meals in the Great Hall most of all, tasting the house elves' food she always missed over the summer. She received an owl from Harry at breakfast one morning telling her of the Order's victory in the battle at Hogsmeade, and it was at dinner Ginny came over to the Ravenclaw table clutching the diary she had been reading for days.

"Are you still reading that?" Luna asked.

"Yeah," Ginny answered, "It's really interesting. Actually makes me feel a little sorry for how we treated him while he was a teacher here. But, the reason I came over was to show you this page I found, think you might find it interesting." Ginny put the book down in front of her, open at a page about half-way through, and went back to her own table. Luna began to read the entry.

"_Well, today was another complete waste of time. Double Divination. I hate that class so much, and that stupid teacher, thinks she knows everything. Lily still isn't giving me the time of day, maybe I should just give up on her all together, probably blown any chances I ever had with her, and there are a few girls in Slytherin that I think might like me, although that crazy mudblood Naomi Ellis keeps giving me unwanted advances. At least I think that's what it is. She keeps pestering me about potions, wanting to know about __Doxycide and Skele-Gro, why I have no idea, there's no connection between the two at all. She's completely demented…"_

Luna looked up in shock. Snape had known her mother at school? She'd never heard about that. And why was she asking about Doxycide and Skele-Gro? Asking Ginny if she could keep the diary for a few days, to which she replied yes, Luna left the hall, heading back to her dormitory, to study it in more detail.

A day later, Luna had read a few more days in Snape's listings in the diary, when her mother was once again mentioned;

"_Ellis bothering me again today, same potions. Why doesn't she just ask Slughorn if she so interested?_"

Luna's head shot up. Of course, Professor Slughorn! She dashed out of the common room and hurried down the stairs towards the dungeons, losing five points from her house in the process. She hoped the potions teacher wouldn't have a class, she needed to find out about this right now. Her whole mission could depend on it. She reached the door of Slughorn's office, gasping for breath, and knocked sharply on it.

"Yes, how can I help you?" Slughorn asked politely as he opened the door. He was always uncharacteristically friendly for a Slytherin.

"Sorry to bother you, Professor," Luna said, "But there's something I really need to ask you some potions."

"Of course, come in, come in," Slughorn replied, stepping back into the office. Luna followed, noticing how much brighter the office looked than when it had been Snape's domain.

"I wanted to know something about my mother," Luna explained, "Naomi Ellis."

"Merlin's beard!" Slughorn cried in surprise, "Naomi Ellis was you mother?...I remember her, brilliant student, fantastic at potions. Tell me, what is she doing these days? I always saw her working in potions after she left."

"She's dead," Luna explained, "Died when I was nine." Slughorn looked saddened.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that, shame, terrible shame. What was it exactly you wanted to know?"

"Do you remember her ever coming to you asking about Doxycide and Skele-Gro?" Slughorn looked deep in thought for a moment.

"Yes, yes I do," he said, "I must say I was surprised, neither of those potions are contacted, and they're everyday concoctions, but your mother seemed to think there was something you could do with both of them."

"Is there anything you could do using both of them?" Luna asked, "And maybe using three other potions?" Slughorn looked thoughtful again for a moment, longer this time.

"There is a legend I vaguely remember," Slughorn explained, "Just a silly myth though, like Crumple-Horned Snorkacks," Luna stopped herself from saying anything, "It did say though, that if you put five potions together, I'm sure Doxycide and Skele-Gro were involved, and fired a certain incantation at these potions, it could give you ultimate control over magic."

"Ultimate control?" Luna enquired.

"Yes. It would give whoever cast the incantation an unlimited source of power. They wouldn't even require a wand, and could do almost anything they wanted, like kill someone a thousand miles away without even needing to move, for example Someone like this would be, in theory, invincible." Luna was getting worried.

"Of course," Slughorn continued, "The whole thing's just a myth." Even he looked concerned about what he'd just said.

"Do you remember what the other three potions are?" Luna asked.

"I'm afraid not," Slughorn told her, "It was years ago I heard about it, I can only remember a few details unfortunately."

"Do you know anywhere I could get more information about it?"

"I can't think of anything in particular, but if you check the library for books that mention Doxycide and Skele-Gro, there may be a mention in there."

"Thank you, Professor, you have been most helpful."

"Think nothing of it," Slughorn replied, looking at Luna. "You know, I can't believe I never saw it before, you're the spitting image of her." Luna smiled as she went back out of the office into the dim dungeon corridor.

That afternoon, Luna, Ginny and Neville were sitting in the library, a stack of books in front of them on the table. All three looked bored and exhausted as they painstakingly looked through each of the books they knew contained a reference to the two potions.

"This is hopeless," Ginny broke the silence that had lasted for hours, "All of these books just say exactly the same thing. Doxycide renders Doxies unconscious and Skele-Gro grows back bones, just the standard stuff, nothing about any power-giving machine thing." Luna and Neville seemed to agree, putting down there own books, Luna rising from her seat.

"I'm going to go feed the Threstrals, I think," she stated, "Haven't seem them since I got back."

"Can I come with you?" Neville asked, "Unless you want to be alone."

"No, that's okay" Luna told him, "I wouldn't mind some company." After fetching some apples from the kitchen, the two teenagers strolled down to the Forbidden Forrest where the large black creatures were waiting, as if knowing Luna would be coming to see them today. They fed them in a calm silence.

"We're getting nowhere," Luna stated suddenly.

"Don't give up," Neville urged her, "We'll find what the other three potions are, somehow. I have faith in you."

"Thank you, Neville," Luna smiled at him, "I just wish I knew why my mother wanted to build that machine. I knew her, she would never want that kind of power."

"Well," said Neville, pulling a small stone out of his pocket, "We could always ask her."


	5. The Mezola Machine

"Where did you get that?" Luna asked, staring at the item in Neville's hand. Her father had told the story of the Deathly Hallows to her enough for her to recognise it immediately, the Resurrection Stone.

"Found it," Neville explained, "Not far from here, after the battle. It was just lying on the ground."

"You know what it is then?" Luna asked, surprised.

"Yes," Neville answered, "I've read about it before, couldn't believe it was just sitting here in the forest."

"I think it was Harry who had it," Luna theorised correctly, "He spoke to dad about the Deathly Hallows last year. I think he was looking for them." She took the black stone from Neville and stared at it, contemplating. Would it be right to bring back her mother? Did she really want to? Luna thought back to the time her father had first told her of the stone and the other Hallows, many years ago:

"_So, this stone could bring back the dead?"_

"_That's right."_

"_So we could see mum again?"_

"_No, Luna, remember the story of the three brothers. The second brother's fiancée didn't want to be brought back. She was unhappy to be returned. Although what happened to you mother may not have been what we desired, she belongs behind the veil now. You shall see her again, my love, but not in this world."_

Luna sighed, knowing her father had been right all those years ago. Despite wanting to see her mother again more than anything, she knew it would be wrong to bring her back. It wasn't time yet.

"I can't do it," Luna explained to Neville, "Not my mother, anyway. There's someone else I'd like to ask though." She walked away from him, towards the lake. Neville got the feeling she didn't want him to follow, and he stayed waiting where he was.

Luna stared out at the lake in silence for a few moments. It was drawing on to early evening and the sun was already beginning to set. After checking there was no-one else around, she turned the stone in her hand three times, as she had always been told to do, and looked up to see the half-ghostly, half-flesh figure of Albus Dumbledore standing in front of her.

"Hello Professor," Luna greeted him, as if she had simply stepped into the Headmaster's office when he was still alive. Dumbledore himself didn't seem too fazed either about being brought back temporarily to life.

"Miss Lovegood," he said, recognising her, "May I ask how you gained possession of that stone?"

"Neville found it," she explained, "In the woods. I brought you back because I need to ask you some questions. I've been given the task of defeating a dark wizard."

"I see," Dumbledore nodded, "Well, Luna, what is it you need to ask?" Luna noticed he was now calling her by her first name. The only other student she had known him to ever do that with was Harry.

"Do you know of magical machine, one involving five potions?" she asked, "that would give a person unlimited magical power?" If there was any wizard that would know about it, living or dead, Luna was sure it was the former headmaster.

"Indeed, I believe you are referring to the Mezola Machine," Dumbledore explained, "Why do you need to know about this?"

"The wizard I'm fighting against," Luna went on, "I think he's trying to built it himself to take over the world, and…my mother tried to build one, she died doing it. I don't understand why though, she would never have wanted that kind of power."

"She may not have been trying to gain power herself," Dumbledore suggested," It is possible she was attempting to stop anyone else from doing so." Luna looked startled.

"There are two incantations you can use," Dumbledore continued, "One will give the person who casts it complete power over all magic, the other will destroy the machine, and create an impenetrable magical barrier, that would prevent anyone who built another machine being able to gain any power from it."

Now Luna understood completely, her mother wanted to _destroy _the machine, to prevent it being used by a dark wizard. What had gone wrong she didn't know, but her mother's intentions had been noble. Luna was even more proud of her than she had been before. She remembered what she needed to ask Dumbledore, and snapped out of her thoughts.

"Sir, I only know two of the potions that are needed," she stated, "Doxycide and Skele-Gro. I need to know what the other three are, if I'm going to finish what my mother started."

"The other three potions needed are Essence of Rue, Pepperup potion and Deflating Draught," Dumbledore ran off the seemingly random list that somehow had a great power when put together.

"What about the incantation?" Luna asked, "Which one am I supposed to use?" Dumbledore smiled.

"That, Luna, is something you will have to discover yourself." Luna got the feeling he knew what it was, but had chosen not to tell her for some reason.

"And now I think I should be on my way," Dumbledore stated.

"Thank you, Professor." Dumbledore nodded and before Luna could say anything else he was gone. Not wanting to stop for a second, Luna looked at the Resurrection Stone, still in her hands. She had guessed Harry had meant to rid the world of it in the forest, before Neville found it. She decided on a better disposal method. Drawing her arm back, she thrust it forward, the stone flying out of her hand and hitting the surface of the lake, disappearing underneath the blue water, now hopefully lost forever.

Luna hurried back the way she came to where Neville was still standing with the Threstrals. He had already decided not to ask what had happened while she had been away.

"We need Doxycide, Skele-Gro, Essence of Rue, Pepperup Potion and Deflating Draught," she said triumphantly, "Let's tell Ginny."

Luna wasted no time in carrying on with her mission. Professor Slughorn allowed her the use of the Potions classroom that night, and she had been working for several hours. She was apprehensive. If she was quick, this could all be over by tonight. But Luna was being careful and taking her time. Her mother must have made a mistake that led to her own attempt at the machine going wrong. Luna carefully studied each of the instructions from her old potions book carefully, making sure she didn't make any mistakes. Luckily, all five were standard potions, and Luna was finding it easier than expected to mix them up. She wondered how far Moonlight was with his own machine. Did he know all of the potions necessary? Had he already completed it? Or even used it? Luna doubted that, if he had used the machine already, she would probably be dead.

It was getting late, and Luna was growing tired, but she carried on, determined to finish. She had just completed the third potion, Essence of Rue, and was about to use the fourth cauldron she had set up for the Pepperup Potion, when she heard the door open behind her.

"Sorry, this room's being used," she said, without turning round, assuming it was just another student.

"_Stupefy!"_ Luna had done enough training with Harry and the DA to be able to dodge the spell at a lightning speed. She threw herself to the floor and looked up in time to see the face of the attacker from Hogsmeade, who was still unconscious in the infirmary, last she had heard.

"_Expelliarmus!_" Luna tried and failed to disarm her opponent. She ducked behind one of the desks in the class as a spell hit the back of it, sending small chunks of rock flying everywhere. Luna waited for a second, and jumped out, taking the assailant by surprise, and this time managing to send the wand flying out of his hand. Unarmed, he lunged at Luna, slamming her backwards into a shelf of potion ingredients, which smashed to the floor spilling everywhere. Luna attempted to fight against his strength, and succeeded in pushing him off her. She ran as fast as she could for her own wand, which had fallen out of her hand when she was attacked. Just as she was about to reach it, she tripped up, as the man grabbed her from behind. She kicked back, knocking him away, and reached her wand.

"_Stupefy!_" The spell knocked the attacker over and Luna seized the opportunity, conjuring ropes to bound him, preventing his escape. Luna got up, dusting herself off, and walked over to the destroyed shelf. To her relief the vile of veritaserum was about the only item not broken. She fetched it, and walked over to the Moonlight supporter. Sensing what was about to happen, he tried to struggle out of his magical restraints, to no avail.

"Please drink this, I don't want to have to use any force," Luan said sincerely, managing to get the concoction down his throat without much difficulty.

"Do you work for Adamo Moonlight?" She began her interrogation.

"Yes."

"Can you please tell me where he is located?" Luna asked, the interrogated man seemingly surprised at her politeness and friendly tone.

"Edinburgh, in the South Bridge Vaults."

"How much does he know about the Mezoma Machine?"

"He knows about its power, and three of the potions necessary to make it, Essence of Rue, Doxycide and Deflating Draught." Luna was relieved, hearing that he knew less than she did.

"How is my father?"

"He was alive and well last time I saw him."

"Do you have a way of contacting Moonlight?"

"Yes."

"Could you please send a message to him, I would like to meet with him, to tell him what the other two potions are, in exchange for my father's safe return." The assailant looked suspicious, but after a moment, closed his eyes. Luna assumed he was contacting his master through some sort of telepathic means. A minute passed, and he opened his eyes again.

"He has agreed. He will meet you in Ottery St. Catchpole, in one hour, on the hill near your home." Luna got the feeling he wanted to taunt her by using that location.

"Thank you very much for you help," Luna said truthfully. At that moment, Neville and Ginny came running into the room.

"Luna," Ginny said, "We heard crashing and a fight in here. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Luna answered, and then pointed to the bound man on the floor.

"We better take him back to the infirmary," Ginny said, "And this time make sure there's better security." Luna looked over at the destroyed storage area. Even a _reparo_ spell wouldn't be enough to fix that.

"I can't make the potions now," she said, "All the ingredients are smashed up over there." As Ginny levitated the man as best she could heading back for Madame Pomfrey, Luna walked alongside Neville.

"I'm going to meet Moonlight," she stated.

"What?" Neville was shocked, "He'll kill you!" Luna shook her head.

"I'll kill him. You heard what Harry said, I've got to be the one to destroy him. This might be the only chance I'll get, he'll keep me alive as long as he thinks I'm going to give him the names of the two potions he's looking for, and I have to save my father, before anything happens to him." Neville looked unconvinced.

"At least let me and Ginny come with you, you shouldn't do this alone." Luna agreed.

"Where are you meeting him anyway?" Neville asked.

"In my own village, Ottery St. Catchpole, in an hour," replied Luna.

"An hour?" Neville didn't like this situation, "That doesn't give us much time."

"I would like some more time," Luna agreed, "But I don't have a choice. If Moonlight manages to finish this machine, it's all over." They reached the infirmary, where Madame Pomfrey agreed to have a prefect posted outside at all times to foil any further escapes. Neville explained the plan to Ginny, who didn't like it any more than he did, but also reluctantly agreed.

"I can apparate us to the village," Neville stated.

"Are you sure?" Ginny asked, worried, "Ottery St. Cathpole is miles away, do you think you can make it?" Neville nodded.

"I've been having some extra apparition training while I've been here. I really think I'm ready."

"Okay, Neville," Luna said, trusting her friend, "We'll have to clear the castle to be able to apparate. Wait there." Luna ran off towards the Ravenclaw dormitories. Neville and Ginny waited patiently, until Luna's voice came out of nowhere.

"Ready." Ginny turned round to see nothing and knew immediately where Luna was.

"Luna, take it off," she said, "You nearly scared me to death." Luna emerged into visible sight from Harry's invisibility cloak.

"I wanted to get some practice with it," she said, "Harry was right, this did have a use, it should get us into Hogsmeade safely." They headed out of the castle and into the grounds, and with some difficulty, managed to all fit under the cloak. It only took a few minutes to reach the village, and Neville judged they were now far enough from the castle to apparate.

"Now," Neville whispered, and they through off the cloak, Luna holding it tightly. Before anyone had a chance to see them, they were all gone, leaving only a _crack _behind.


	6. Meeting Moonlight

It was a full moon that evening, bigger in the sky than Luna had ever seen it before. She stared at it as she walked alongside Ginny and Neville. He had managed to land them only half a mile from the meeting spot, with no splinching at all. Luna looked through the night, and could see her house in the distance. It had been repaired to its former glory after the incident earlier that year, and it gave Luna a feeling of hope. She could already see herself returning there soon, all this over. Hopefully, after tonight, it could be.

"You two should wait here," she said to her two companions, "He's expecting me to come alone."

"Luna!" Neville protested, "We can't let you do this on your own, it's too dangerous."

"I have to," she stated back, "If you hear any commotion, then you should intervene." She took Neville's hand and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." They had reached a shroud of trees, which would keep Neville and Ginny out safely out of sight. Luna instructed them to wait there.

"Well, here goes," she said. She kissed Neville on the cheek and walked off, out of sight. He tried not to think that it may have been the last time he would ever see her.

Luna walked up the steep slope towards the top of the hill where Moonlight would be waiting for her. She was apprehensive, but not too nervous. This was just something that had to be done. Her house came back into view as she neared the top of the mound, and then she saw him.

Adamo Moonlight stood between a wizard and a witch, and behind him were two werewolves, sitting obediently. He seemed to have some sort of control over them. They snarled at Luna as she appeared over the top of the hill. Moonlight himself was younger than Luna had expected, even though she had been told that he had only left Hogwarts a few years before she started. He was average height, with short dark hair, and was wearing a blue cloak.

"Luna Lovegood," he looked at her, "We meet at last. I believe you have some information for me?"

"Where's my father?" Luna asked. She had to make sure he was safe before she did anything else. Moonlight waved his hand at the wizard next to him, who turned around and disappeared over the other side of the hill. One of the werewolves started howling randomly, startling Luna a little. A moment later, the man returned with her father. Luna felt a wave of relief seeing him again, and that he seemed relatively unhurt. He was shackled, being dragged along by the wizard, who dumped him unceremoniously on to the ground beside Moonlight.

"Luna!" he screamed at her, "Don't tell him anything! You don't know what you're doing!" Moonlight pointed his wand at him, prompting him to be silent.

"It's okay, father," Luna told him, "I know exactly what I'm doing." Moonlight began to walk towards her, and Luna resisted the urge to run in the other direction. He stopped a few feet in front of her.

"You silly little girl, you really don't know what you've gotten yourself into." He reached out his hand towards Luna, but still a little away from her, and she gasped as she felt her thoughts being entered. Moonlight was definitely telepathic. Luna wished she knew anything about Occlumency at this point, as she tried as best she could to stop him invading her mind, but she couldn't. She collapsed on to the floor, as Moonlight smiled.

"Skele-Gro and Pepperup Potion," he said triumphantly and then suddenly he started laughing.

"There's some surface memory I can detect," he said, "Someone called Neville Longbottom? You…like him?" Moonlight was in hysterics now.

"Well, I hope your little boyfriend can live without you," he pointed his wand down at Luna, "_Avada Ke_-"

"_Crucio!_" The spell hit Moonlight in the chest and he collapsed to the ground writhing in pain. Before the wizard and witch could react, two more spells had hit them, causing them to fall to the ground, and with one final spell at Xenophilius, he was released from the shackles holding him. Luna didn't get a chance to see who her saviour was, before he had grabbed her hand, and starting running, her father hurrying behind them. She took a furtive glance behind her, and as she had expected, the two werewolves were in pursuit of them. She then took a chance to look to her side and see exactly who had rescued her, Draco Malfoy.

Xenophilius had caught up with them now, and Draco seemed to be leading them in a specific direction.

"We need to hurry," he announced, "It'll be leaving in a few seconds." They reached the bottom of the hill, and Draco went straight for a log on the ground. Luna and her father flowed, and just a few seconds before the werewolves would have caught them, Luna found Ottery St. Catchpole disappear as the portkey spun them away. They fell down a moment later on hard ground again, Luna and Xenophilius too exhausted to be able to land on their feet.

"You went after Moonlight with no Order backup!" Draco shouted at Luna, "You really are loony." He saw Luna's father glare at him.

"Sorry, _Luna_," he added, "Old habits." He helped Xenophilius up.

"How did you find me?" Luna asked.

"We had some intelligence that Moonlight was meeting you tonight," Draco explained, "I was sent to get you out of there if it was true." He looked at something in the distance.

"I'm sorry I had to bring you here, I know this is probably the last place you want to see." Luna looked up, and understood what he had meant. They were outside of Malfoy Manor.

Draco helped Xenophilius up and led him and Luna up to the large front doors of the house, pushing them open. She was immediately greeted by the sight of Neville, who ran up and hugged her.

"I thought you were dead," he said to her, as they were led into the large main room of the house. Draco was looking at them both. Luna assumed he must have heard what Moonlight had said. As she entered, she was relieved to see Ginny standing in the middle of the room with Ron. They had all managed to get safely away.

"Ron came for me and Neville," Ginny explained, walking over to Luna.

"I'm afraid there's not much to offer for food," Draco said, "As you know, we don't have a house elf any more." The Manor was looking extremely run-down, judging by the last time Luna had seen it. She followed Draco and Ginny into the kitchen. Ron still seemed to want to stay as far away from him as possible. Ginny started rummaging around, hungry after everything that had happened that night. Luna herself had wandered off, and was now staring down into the cellar she had been kept in for many months earlier that year. Draco walked over to her.

"I'm sorry," he said, "About all that." He motioned to the cellar, realising how stupid it sounded. As if a simple apology could make up for everything.

"That's okay," Luna replied, smiling at him, "You save my life tonight."

"Yeah, but don't you still hate me?" Draco said, almost wanting her to. Luna shook her head.

"I don't see the use in hating anyone. It never does any good. People like Voldemort and Moonlight live off hate. It never brings them any happiness." Luna looked over to Draco, and saw he had begun to cry slightly. She reached out and hugged him, and was sure if she were to put the sorting hat on him now, it would put him in Hufflepuff. Ginny was looking over now, at the most surreal sight she had ever seen. Luna Lovegood was consoling Draco Malfoy.

"I really messed up didn't I?" Draco sighed.

"Yes," Luna replied, "But you're making up for it now, that's what matters."

"Doesn't matter what I do though is it? Everyone will always hate me. Well, except you."

"I have an idea," Luna said excitedly. She led Draco out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

"Daddy," she ran up to her father, "Why don't you write an article about Draco in the _Quibbler_? About all the work he's been doing for the Order recently."

"Maybe, Luna," Xenophilius replied, not entirely sure it was a good idea. Neville had come over and started to talk to Luna, seemingly wanting to get her away from Draco, which he succeeded in doing.

Soon after, Xenophilius and Ginny had done their best to prepare a meal for everyone. It wasn't bad, and Ron was just grateful Luna's dad hadn't been left to do it on his own, remembering his taste in cooking from when he had been in Luna's house. They were sat around the centre of the large table in the main room of the manor. Luna was the only one willing to sit beside Draco, with Neville on the other side of her, on the opposite side of the table, her father, Ginny next to him, who in turn was next to Ron. He seemed a little uncomfortable around Xenophilius as well. This was all leading to a thoroughly awkward meal. Luna didn't feel much like eating, despite having not had anything in her stomach for hours. She was too desperate to get on with the mission.

"We'll need to leave soon," Luna simply said, breaking the slice of the dinner.

"Luna, it's already passed midnight," Ginny pointed out, "We should wait until tomorrow." Luna shook her head.

"We don't have time. Moonlight knows all five potions now. He could finish the machine at any point and use it." No one at the table could argue like that.

"Father, Ron, Draco," she turned to each of them, "You should stay here. Ginny, Neville and I will go to Edinburgh, that's where Moonlight's hideout is. If all goes well, I should be back here soon." She rose up from the table, and walked over to stare out of one of the large windows. Neville and Ginny pushed their plates away and joined Luna.

"We better get going then," Ginny said. Luna smiled at both of them, and after a short goodbye to the other three in the room, they walked back out into the cold night. After the warmth of the manor, Luna was nearly shivering, even with her warm clothes on. Neville had already took hold of Luna and Ginny's arms, and once again, the three of them felt the suffocating effects of apparating, something Luna had grown used to over the past few weeks. At least it was warm.

Soon though, she could feel an even colder air hit her face. They were back on solid ground. Neville had improved greatly in apparition, and none of the three even checked for splinching. Looking around, Luna noticed they seemed to be in a park. It was well lit for this time of night, and she could easily see the features around her, including the city's castle high above them. She knew they weren't too far away.

"This way," Luna said, more guesswork than anything else, and led them both up into the main streets of Edinburgh. Mostly everywhere was closed, and nothing except a few taxis passed them. Walking slowly so as not to get lost, the three teenagers walked across the bridge spanning the large valley separating the two parts of the city. Luna could sense they were getting close, and her heart had started beating faster. Venturing deeper into the city, Luna began to worry she had led them in completely the wrong direction, before seeing a sign reading _South Bridge_ attached to one of the many old buildings in the area.

Luna found a crumbling set of stairs which brought them down the lower level under the bridge. All three immediately began looking for any entrance to the vaults.

"There," Neville stated, pointing to a small door at the side of an alley, a large sign reading _Closed for Maintenance_ across the front of it. That had to be it. All three joined hands, this time out of fear rather than Neville being about to apparate. Luna led the other two through the door, which shut tightly behind them, seemingly of its own accord. It was now, for the first time, that Luna wondered if she would ever leave.


	7. The Vaults

The Edinburgh Vaults had a reputation among both wizards and muggles for being one of the most fear-provoking locations in the country. As Luna, Ginny and Neville walked along its maze of corridors, rooms and staircases, they could see and feel exactly why. It seemed even darker than the secret passage to Hogwarts had been, even though it couldn't possibly have been. Only Luna and Neville's wands were being used to light the location they were in now, as Ginny was using hers to lay an invisible trail back to the entrance in case they needed to escape.

They had been in the Vaults for twenty minutes now, and hadn't found anything yet. All three were keeping their guard up, as they had no idea what would be waiting for them and any point. Turning a corner, Luna let out a small gasp as she came face to face with a ghost. It was a woman, wearing old looking clothes and appearing to have been not much older than the three of them when she had died.

"I've not seen you around here before," she said in a soft voice.

"We've just arrived," Luna explained, "We're here to find someone called Moonlight, but we're a little lost."

"Ah, yes, he and the others arrived a while ago," the ghost helped, "I don't like them though. I used to have this place to myself, apart from the odd person coming through. Now there's hardly anywhere I can go without them telling me to go away." She looked sad.

"What's your name?" Luna asked her kindly.

"Henrietta," she replied, "I died here four-hundred years ago."

"Well, Henrietta," Luna went on, "If we can find Moonlight, we can get him and his followers out of here forever, and then you'd have these vaults to yourself again." Henrietta smiled.

"Go down that corridor," she said, pointing to the left, "And then take the first right. There are no branches after that, so just follow it right down, and you'll get to Moonlight. But be careful, there are things along the way to try and stop you."

"I was afraid she'd say that," Neville said.

"Thank you," Luna told the ghost as she drifted away and through a wall. The three of them moved immediately, heading down the corridor Henrietta had pointed out. They walked cautiously along, looking out for the traps they had been warned about. Before they could have seen it though, a vine-like plant came out from the walls and caught all three of them, pulling them against and they were unable move at all.

"Devil's Snare!" Ginny cried.

"No! It's not," Neville said, realising it was similar, but not the same plant. He struggled against the restraints, but was getting nowhere. At least unlike Devil's snare, the grip didn't get tighter with a struggle.

"We'll have to burn it," Luna said, and Neville nodded. Although it wasn't an appealing option, it was the only one they had at the moment. All three pointed their wands as best they could towards the vines holding them.

"_Incendio!_" The plant burst easily into flames and released its grip on Luna, Ginny and Neville, who fell face first onto the ground. The back of Neville's shirt had caught fire, and Luna quickly rushed over and hit at it with the bag she was carrying. The flames went out.

"Thanks," he said, standing up.

"What was that?" Ginny asked, staring at the plant as it gradually burned away to nothing.

"I've no idea," Neville replied, "We should carry on, and watch out in case there are any more of them." The three of them resumed their slow pace through the corridor, hoping the vicious plant would be the worst thing they would have to face here, but they doubted it. As Henrietta had told them, the corridor simply twisted around without any turn-offs, leading them in the one direction.

Five minutes went by without incident, and Luna was being cautiously optimistic that the plant had indeed been the only security measure Moonlight had put in place. That was before the optimism faded away and Luna began to feel depressed, hopeless, and was now sure her mission was going to fail. It wasn't a feeling she was used to. She looked at Ginny and Neville, whose faces suggested they were thinking the same thing. As the room suddenly got even colder than it had before, Luna realised what was going on.

"Dementors," she stated. Sure enough, shining their wands forwards, three of the floating hooded figures were slowly coming towards them. Luna closed her eyes, mustering all of the happiest thoughts she could.

"_Expecto Patronum_!" A hare burst from the end of her wand, hurtling towards the dementors, who scurried away in the opposite direction.

"Should have known there would've been some of them here," Ginny said.

"We can't know what we're going to find here," Luna pointed out. After checking there were no dementors left around, they carried on, Luna now once again determined to find Moonlight and the machine he was building. Having just faced the dementors, she was sure they were getting close.

"What were you thinking of?" Neville asked Luna.

"What do you mean?" she inquired.

"When you sent out your patronus, what were you thinking of?"

"Oh, just a trip I took to Sweden once, with my parents, while my mum was still alive. We were looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. It was a fantastic time, and always makes me happy to think about it."

As they tuned another corner, Luna put out her arm to stop her two companions. She could hear voices in the distance.

"Sir, we should move, Lovegood knows our location now."

"No," Luna recognised the voice as Moonlight's, "We're too close of finishing the machine, and once we use it, it won't make any difference where we are. And see to it that whoever told Lovegood our location is dealt with."

"He was under the influence of Veritaserum, sir."

"I don't care, no-one betrays me."

"Sir," another voice had joined, "The Ipsil plant has been destroyed and the dementors are flying all over the place like they've been hit by a patronus. Someone has gotten in."

"Probably Lovegood," Moonlight said, "We'll find her soon enough if she's already passed the dementors. And she's most likely got some silly cronies with her. We shall sort all of them out."

Luna looked in the direction she was sure the voices were coming from. Unfortunately, to get any further on, and to, presumably, find the machine, they would have to get past Moonlight. Carefully dropping her bag onto the ground, she fished out the invisibility cloak once again. Motioning to Ginny and Neville, they crammed back under it, and began to slowly walk through the corridor, and into a large stone room. It was well lit by candles and contained only a table and chair, in which Moonlight was sitting. The two wizards he had been speaking to were gone, no doubt to search for her.

Making no noise whatsoever, and walking at an almost crippling pace, Luna led them towards the door at the other end of the room. Her heart was beating so fast, she was afraid the sound would give her away. She kept her eye on Moonlight, who was reading a piece of parchment, apparently oblivious to their presence. The three of them finally reached the other side of the room, and stepped through the opening into another corridor. Once she thought they were safely out of sight and earshot, she whipped the cloak off the three of them.

"I was sure we were going to be caught then," Ginny admitted.

"So was I," Luna agreed, "But we're through, and that must mean we're getting close to the machine." They carried on again, unconsciously moving a little faster, with Ginny and Neville both sure Luna was right. The machine must be really close.

The corridor continued twisting along, and then down another crumbling spiral staircase. As they reached the bottom, Luna and Neville heard a cry behind them as Ginny crashed into Neville's back. Luna quickly turned round, to see her friend lying, clutching her leg.

"I think I've broken it," Ginny announced. Luna and Neville both reached out to try and move her, and she creamed out in pain.

"You'll need to leave me here," Ginny said, "Until you've gotten to the machine."

"We can't just leave you," Neville protested, "What if someone finds you?"

"Hang on," Luna stated, getting out the cloak for the third time that night. Her and Neville managed to move Ginny a little into the corner, and threw the cloak over her.

"Just wait here," she said to the apparently empty space in front of her, "And try not to make any noise." Luna didn't like having to do this, but it seemed like the only choice they had. Her and Neville walked on, Neville giving a reassuring smile to Ginny, not knowing whether she had responded or not. Soon, the now two-strong party had reached another room, similar to the one they had seen Moonlight in. In this one, however, there was just one table, and on it an orb which Luna recognised immediately. It was her prophecy. The one she had seen two years ago at the Ministry.

"That's mine," Luna explained to Neville, "I've seen it before." Deciding right now she had to know what it said, she went over to the table and picked it up, but she found to her dismay that she couldn't bear to look at it.

"Neville," she said, turning to him and handing him the orb, "Can you please tell me what it says?" Neville reluctantly studied what was written on it, and suddenly looked very worried.

"It's just like Harry's," he explained, "It says you have to be the one to destroy Moonlight." Luna nodded. She had expected that's what it would be. She took the orb back from him, and placed it again on the table. She walked over to the other side of the room, on which was a small wooden door. She got the feeling what she was looking for was on the other side. She carefully opened it.

The room awaiting her on the other side was the biggest she had seen in the Vaults so far. It was large and dome-shaped, and looked as if it was a potions classroom. The walls were filled with shelves containing seemingly endless amounts of potions, and in the centre of the room, as she had expected, there was the Mezola Machine.

"This is it," she announced to Neville behind her, "I've got to destroy it now." Neville himself looked through the door and around the room.

"Luna," he started, "If you set off its destruction in here…you'll be killed."

"Yes," Luna simply stated. Before Neville had a chance to do anything, Luna had spun round to face him.

"_Petrificus Totalus_!" the beam hit Neville and he fell to the ground, paralysed. Luna looked at him.

"I'm sorry, Neville," she said, "But I know you'd only try and stop me. When you can move again, go and help Ginny. Goodbye, Neville, and thank you…for never calling me loony." And with that, she turned around, walked into the room, and closed the door behind her.


	8. Thoughts and Musings of Luna Lovegood

Luna walked slowly through the large room, looking all around. She was coming to the realisation that it would probably be the last room she would ever see. She had begun to place various charms around the room, trying to prevent anyone getting in, although Luna suspected she wouldn't be alone for too long, even with those. Staring at the machine, she saw only four of the cauldrons were full. Quickly running to the shelves, she gathered up the ingredients need to make the missing potion, Pepperup Potion. Mixing it up for the second time that night, it didn't take too long. Finished, Luna took a few steps back from the machine and stared at it. There was only one piece of information she now needed, the incantation necessary to destroy the it.

Luna walked over to a bench in the corner of the room, and sitting down, thought back to the day her mother had died. She ran it over in her head again and again, remembering almost every detail, except the incantation her mother had used. She sighed, realising there was only one way she could discover it, and she wasn't looking forward to it. She took off her backpack, pulling out the pensieve that sat at the top of the collection of items. It was smaller than most, which allowed her to carry it around in her bag. She had had a feeling she would need it at some point.

Withdrawing her wand from behind her ear, she raised it to her temple and removed a slither of silvery fluid from it, which she promptly dropped into the pensieve. She rested it next to her on the bench, and cautiously put her left hand in. She had never used one of these before. As she had hoped, the pensieve suddenly sucked her in, and she landed on her feet in another room. Looking around, she recognised the room immediately. It was her mother's lab. Although she didn't want to, she forced herself to look behind her at the other side of the room. There stood Naomi Lovegood. Luna stared at the image of her mother, knowing she couldn't see her. She turned away, not wanting to look at her any more, and saw that, just as in the other room, the Mezola Machine stood in the centre, all five cauldrons filled. It was time.

"What will this machine do, mummy?" Luna turned around to see herself, a little younger and smaller, but with the same dreamy expression on her face, "Is it to keep away nargles?"

"No, Luna," her mother replied to the younger version of her daughter, "This machine will stop Death Eaters gaining any power they shouldn't have. Now, I need you to make sure you stand back, I'm not entirely sure what will happen when I do this." Young Luna nodded, and her older counterpart watched as her mother pointed her wand at the centre of the circle of cauldrons.

"_Mezarma_!" That was it, Luna exited the pensieve immediately, not wanting to see what she already knew what would happen next. Luckily, the method she guessed for leaving was the right one. In a moment, she was standing back in the Vaults again. Trying to forget the re-surfaced memories she had just seen, she walked in front of the machine, standing the same distance from it her mother had been. She could cast the incantation right now and end it, but Luna had the feeling she had to wait just a little longer, especially if the Prophecy were to be fulfilled.

Luna walked back over to the bench and rummaged through her bag some more, pulling out a bottle of butterbeer, along with a piece of parchment and a quill. As she started drinking the ut, she held the cork in her hands staring at it. She would usually always save them for her necklaces, and even though there seemed no point now, she put the cork back into her back and picked up the parchment and quill, beginning to write.

_The Thoughts and Musings of Luna Lovegood._

_To be given, when found, to Xenophilius Lovegood. Father, Please publish in the next edition of the Quibbler._

_As I sit here in the Edinburgh South Bridge Vaults, I find myself thinking over my life. I enjoyed every second of it, even though I never did get a chance to see a Crumple-Horned Snorkack in the wild. To my father, thank you very much for bringing me up to believe things even if I have not seen them myself, and even when others ridicule them, and I hope this magazine continues to inform and go from strength to strength._

_Please note, I don't resent anyone who has called me Loony at some point in my life. Many who did eventually became my friends. Thank you to all my teachers at Hogwarts, in particular Professor Filius Flitwick, head of my house, Professor Horace Slughorn and Professor Remus Lupin, although I suppose I shall be able to tell him in person soon. _

_And finally to my friends, Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron and Ginny Weasley, and most of all, Neville Longbottom, I shall miss you all more than I can say, I hope you go on to have happy lives, as you all deserve it. I shall see you all again one day._

_Keep watching out for Nargles,_

_Luna Lovegood_

She put down the parchment and quill, knowing it would survive the destruction of the machine, and someone would later find it. She finished off her butterbeer, and realised she had been in the room for a good while now. Was he going to show up at all, as Luna had expected?

It hadn't been more than a few moments after she had thought on this, that Adamo Moonlight came bursting through a door at the other side of the room from the one Luna had entered through. He pointed his wand at her.

"Utter any incantation and I will kill you," he warned. Luna stood up, and started walking towards him.

"Why would you kill me?" Luna asked in genuine curiosity, with Moonlight unable to believe she had just asked a question with such an obvious answer.

"Just shut up," he told her, unable to think of anything else to say, "You complete loony."

"I've been called that many times before," Luna explained, "At Hogwarts. How about you? Did you enjoy your time at the school?" Moonlight was exacerbated. This girl was speaking to him as if this was a normal conversation with someone who was a friend, not someone who had just threatened to kill her. He chose not to answer.

"I have a feeling you suffered at school too," Luna continued, "Especially being a Slytherin. I think they are treated very badly. Being in a certain house doesn't make you bad." She was smiling sympathetically at him now, "I understand why you feel the way you do."

"I don't need your sympathy, Lovegood," Moonlight snapped back. This wasn't right. He was supposed to be feared, as Lord Voldemort had been. But this girl wasn't showing any fear at all. She felt _sorry_ for him. Moonlight couldn't stand it.

"You silly girl," he said, "You don't realise what your up against."

"Oh, I do," Luna replied. Moonlight thought about what to do. He couldn't kill the girl right now, the risk she would send out the incantation to destroy the machine as he did it was too great. Similarly, she couldn't just kill him, in case he activated the machine. He was in a stale-mate with the strangest girl he had ever met.

"What is it that's so compelling about the dark arts?" Luna asked, again out of genuine interest, as if she was simply asking one of her Hogwarts teachers.

"What is wrong with you?" Moonlight screamed at her, almost in a voice of panic. He was panicking? He didn't have any idea how to deal with this girl. His henchmen, or the wizards who stood in his way, pleading for mercy, or running way terrified were easy, but this was something he had never faced before. Thinking of nothing else he could do, Moonlight answered her question.

"The dark arts are not restricted. There are no rules, like the ones your precious Ministry puts on everyone. They are pure, as pure as my bloodline. Unlike yours?" He felt a little triumphant at his insult of Luna's ancestry.

"Thank you," Luna said, Moonlight again taken aback. "You are correct, my mother was muggle-born. It's very interesting to learn about my muggle heritage. What about you? Do you know much about your heritage?" This was getting ridiculous, Moonlight couldn't stand it any more.

"Why aren't you scared of me?" he finally blurted out, this time the panic in his voice clear.

"I don't fear you," she calmly explained, "I do fear the fact that you are pointing a wand at me and threatening to kill me, but I am not letting that fear control me." Luna had now begun to walk around the room, Moonlight standing in the same spot, keeping his wand on her.

"You know, if circumstances were different, we could be friends," Luna said, with her back to Moonlight. He laughed at the idea, but had an uneasy feeling that she was right.

"I would not be friends with a mudblood lunatic like you," he said, covering up his hesitation. Luna looked back at him.

"Do you have many friends, Adamo?" Luna asked him. He boiled with rage at her using his first name. She had no right.

"I have my followers," he told her.

"That's not the same. They just follow you out of fear. There's not real loyalty there. It's not the same as friendship. You should really give it a try." She was smiling at him again, as she reached one of the shelves lined with potions. Moonlight kept his gaze on her, not sure if she was about to try something, but she turned back towards him, appearing to have nothing in her hands.

"Are you sure you don't want to change?" Luna asked, now standing directly in front of him, "Last chance."

"Shut up, Lovegood," he said coldly, still uneasy at this whole situation. Luna suddenly reached out and grasped his wand in her hand, which began to dissolve.

"What have you done?" Moonlight screamed, as he watched his wand melt away. He tried desperately to cast a spell with it, but it was now too misshapen to do anything.

"It's a dissolving potion," Luna explained, "I found it on the shelf and put some on my hands. It's harmless to flesh but will destroy a wand." Satisfied, Luna pointed her own wand at the machine.

"_Mezarma_!" The machine began to whir like an engine starting up. Luna turned back to Moonlight.

"Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure," Luna smiled. She had always wanted those to be her last words.

The machine's whirring grew and suddenly the entire room was engulfed in a blue light.

**Note: **This is not the end. There's an epilogue coming.


	9. Epilogue

**Notes: **Thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed this story, hope you enjoyed it and hope you like this ending.

James Potter stumbled out of the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, clutching the items he needed for his next class, which of course, he was late for again. He rushed down the stairs, which to his dismay kept moving in the opposite direction he wanted to go. Reaching the first floor, he tripped over his feet and dropped the stuff he was carrying on to the floor in front of him. Groaning, he bent down to pick them up, before seeing a pair of feet in front of him, wearing odd socks. He knew immediately who it was.

"Hello James," the voice belonging to the feet said. James finished gathering his belongings and stood up to see the face of a girl his age with long, dark hair and her usual faraway look in her eyes.

"Oh, hey Naomi," he greeted his friend.

"You remember who's coming to our Defence Against The Dark Arts class today, don't you?" she asked, a slight sign of excitement in her voice.

"Yes, of course I do," James said. He'd known for the last two weeks, but Naomi kept trying to remind him. "Sorry, but I have to rush, I'm late for your dad's class again." He wanted to stay and talk to her longer, but was forced to rush off.

"Okay, James, see you later," Naomi called after him, before continuing on her own way.

James arrived at his Herbology class only a few minutes late, managing to avoid getting detention. He had to admit he shared Naomi's excitement about the next class he would have, Defence Against The Dark Arts, due to the guest speaker's arriving day. He met his brother, Albus on the way there, who was practically jumping around, having already had his lesson at the start of the day.

"…And they showed us their patronuses, and taught us how to fight a boggart, and…"

"Albus," James interrupted him, "You've seen that all already at home."

"Yeah, but this time everyone could else in the class could see it," Albus pointed out. James could understand what he meant.

Finally, after eggting his brother to go on to his next class, James took the long staircase up to the D.A.D.A. classroom, which was already full of students even more excited than usual about the class. It was a Gryffindor and Ravenclaw mix, so at least there wouldn't be any problems from Slytherins. He took a seat at the back next to Naomi, who would've probably pulled him over next to her anyway, keen to see what the other students' reaction would be when they found out who was coming to their class today.

"Okay, class," the teacher, a young man, began, settling them down, "As you've probably heard, we have two guests today who will be answering some questions and teaching you some advanced magic, Harry Potter and Luna Lovegood-Longbottom." The entire class, save James and Naomi, gasped as the two wizarding legends steeped out of the teacher's office and to the front of the room.

"Are there any questions?" The teacher prompted. About a dozen hands immediately shot up, and the teacher initially selected a Gryffindor girl in the front row.

"Can you show us your patronuses?" Harry laughed. That had been the first question asked in all of the classes he had been in that day. Motioning to Luna, they both drew their wands.

"_Expecto Pantronum_!" Harry's stag and Luna's hare burst out and starting gliding along the opposite sides of the room. James and Naomi sat at the back of the room, beaming with pride. Once the patronuses had finally faded away, the teacher selected another student for a question.

"Is it true you're a werewolf, Miss Lovegood?" the Ravenclaw boy inquired.

"I meant serious questions," the teacher interrupted from the desk.

"It's okay," Luna said giggling, "No, I'm not, that was just a rumour someone started a while back." After a few more questions, the teacher selected a girl to ask the last one.

"How did you survive the killing curse from Voldemort and the destruction of the Mezola Machine?" she directed her question to both of them.

"I can answer that," Harry started, "You see, both our mothers died doing the same thing, protecting us. Mine died trying to stop Voldemort from killing me, and Luna's mother died protecting her from the machine she had built. This act of love created magical protection around us. Meaning, for me, when Voldemort used the killing curse on me as a baby, it rebounded on him instead."

"And for me," Luna continued, "It meant that when I destroyed the Mezola Machine, my mother's magic was enough to keep me safe." Luna was thinking back to that night. At her surprise when she woke up to discover she was still alive. The prophecy had been fulfilled, as Moonlight hadn't survived the explosion. The first thoughts Luna had were for her friends. She was overjoyed at the thought of seeing them again, especially Neville.

As she was lost in her thoughts, the class had started to walk out for the end of the day, and the D.A.D.A teacher thanked them both for coming along for the day.

"You know, I think James has a little crush on Naomi," Harry said to Luna as they left the classroom a little after the students.

"Really?" Luna asked, curious.

"Yeah, he talked about her more than anyone else at the school when he was over for Christmas." Luna looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Naomi Potter," she said, "Sounds good."

"Luna, they've only met recently."

"Well, you'd met Ginny and I'd met Neville at the same age."

"Fair enough," Harry conceded, "By the way, I'm apparating home in about an hour. Do you want to come for dinner? Ginny hasn't seen you in ages, and she's desperate to catch up."

"Okay," Luna said happily, "But can I join you a little later? I promised Neville I'd spend some time with him today, and I'm off to Scandinavia tomorrow, doing some research for the _Quibbler_."

"How's the _Quibbler_ doing by the way?" Harry asked.

"It's going good," Luna answered, "It's hard being the editor, but I enjoy it, and although dad's supposed to be enjoying his retirement, he still insists on helping me out sometimes." They had reached the bottom of the staircase, heading towards the Entrance Hall, when Neville came round the corner towards them.

"Hey Luna," Neville said, giving his wife a kiss.

"See you later, Harry," Luna said as she and Neville walked off together. A little behind them on the Grand Staircase, James and Naomi were also walking along together.

"Think we'll ever be like them?" Naomi asked, "Defeating dark wizards and things like that."

"Well," said James, "We wouldn't still have a Defence Against The Dark Arts class if there weren't wizards out there still to defeat." Naomi smiled.

"I should go and feed the Thestrals," she stated, "It's been a few days. Do you want to come with me?" Naomi had promised her mother she would go and feed them regularly when she went to Hogwarts and due to her seeing her great-grandmother pass away when she was younger, they were visible to her.

"Yeah, I'd love to," James said, smiling. The two of them walked off together, heading in the same direction as Luna and Neville. Naomi realised what James had said about them was right. They were a lot like their parents, something she was extremely pleased with.


End file.
